The NBA has sent out a series of press releases on the overnight ratings for its All-Star Weekend events, which were very strong across the board.

The format change to the “Rising Stars Game” — which went to a “Team Shaq vs. Team Chuck” format this year, as opposed to the traditional rookies vs. sophomores format, was a huge success, as the game drew a record number of eyeballs:

Despite the fact that the Dunk Contest featured very little star power, the All-Star Saturday night ratings were tied for the second-highest ratings in the history of the event. The ratings were the same as they were in 2009, when Nate Robinson won his 2nd dunk contest title by putting on a glowing green outfit and jumping over Dwight Howard:

Finally, the All-Star Game itself drew its 2nd-highest overnight rating since the 2005 game, despite the fact it aired on the same night as the Academy Awards:

During one of the busiest and most-watched nights on television, TNT’s exclusive coverage of the 2012NBAAll-Star Game in Orlando, FLdelivered an overall 5.4 US HH rating in metered market overnights. The metered market rating is the second highest-rated overnight since 2005 (5.9 metered market rating).

This is all good news: it’s another sign that the lockout didn’t prevent fans from coming back to basketball when the games and exhibitions actually started up again.

The Lakers announced Sunday night that Kobe Bryant suffered a nasal fracture in the third quarter of the 2012 NBA All-Star Game after a hard foul from Dwyane Wade. Bryant held his nose several times after the play but finished the game, a 152-149 win for the West.

Here’s the play that resulted in the fracture:

The Salt Lake Tribune reported after the game that Bryant was suffering from headaches, and Bryat missed media availability after passing Michael Jordan for all-time scoring leader in All-Star Games. The Orange County Register reports Bryant will return to practice Monday after seeing a specialist and will play next Sunday against Wade’s Heat so it doesn’t sound like this will keep Bryant out any significant time, which isn’t surprising considering everything he’s played through the last two years.

Tough… ahem, break, for Kobe. The play was definitely not an accident, a purposeful foul from Wade in an All-Star Game. So I’m sure Lakers fans will only feel more warm and fuzzies bout Wade after this. It’s unlikely Wade will suffer any punishment for the play, especially with Bryant not missing time.

Let me be clear, I like the guy. I like his game, I like him (in our limited interactions), but this is like suggesting the second season of Friday Night Lights was the best one. It is objectively wrong.

This is a horrific idea in baseball, to try to put meaning into an exhibition. Here’s an idea — let an exhibition be an exhibition. It’s a showcase. Entertainment. Shaq dancing with the Jabberwockies. It is not serious basketball. That’s okay, we have the playoffs for that. Let this be what it is.

If you play all season to have the best record in the NBA — if (every season but this lockout-shortened one) you play every team in the other conference — then the team with the best record should get home court. The All-Star idea is terrible. Or, if you are Charles Barkley, “turrable.” Either way.

You can keep voting on the NBA All-Star Game players through the end of the month — you can vote every day between now and then, if your heart so desires.

It’s not going to matter, the All-Star Game starters are pretty locked in.

The NBA released the second round of All-Star balloting returns on Thursday and what jumps off the page is that in every category there is a pretty steep drop off after the first two starters positions. The closest race is Dirk Nowitzki chasing Blake Griffin for the second West forward spot and Dirk only has 57 percent of the votes of Griffin, trailing him by more than 260,000 votes. Nobody is catching them as starters. And the voters only choose the starters (coaches fill out the rest of the roster). So, you’ve done your job.

The All-Star Game is Feb. 26 from Orlando.

Here are the results, which show no changes since last week. Dwight Howard still has gotten more votes than anyone, although Kobe Bryant is now close to him. But you’re not going to see any meaningful changes without a massive campaign by someone that catches fire.

Count this among the things I didn’t know, but should have. The Celtics haven’t hosted an All-Star Game since 1964. That’s pretty crazy considering it’s been NBA Town since the inception of the league. Apparently there’s been a longstanding dispute with the co-tenant Bruins that have prevented the game from coming to town. Teams have to apply to host the game, and the Celtics haven’t. But now the Mayor of Boston has come out and said he wants the game back. From the Globe:

It is believed that ownership squabbles between the Celtics and the Bruins, as well as disagreements with the mayor over the past several years, have grounded any plans for the February classic to return to Boston. But Mayor Thomas Menino said the days of infighting within Boston’s sports and political infrastructure are over.

“We haven’t had it since ’64 and I think we’re ready for it,’’ Menino said. “We have new ownership, new enthusiasm, the fan base out here for it, and I just think we have the facility and everything ready to go.

“I hope that the NBA makes the decision in the near future to bring the All-Star Game to our city.’’

Most people will react pretty violently to this. The game is considered the same way the Super Bowl is. It’s supposed to be in a warm weather, party city. Boston ain’t that. Surprisingly, media members who often complain about the location are likely to support the move, particularly if they’re a guy who talks about sports from Boston. It’ll be seen as an homage to the history of the game. But Boston in February isn’t exactly the party location most are thinking, and considering how big of a destination vacation it’s become for so many, that could cause problems.

We’ll have to see if the Celtics get on the list following the 2013 game, which will be held in Houston.